Under the guise of a feat, sloppiness and military incompetence are often hidden. The decision to follow the pattern spawned a heroic myth, but killed the ship.
Our proud "Varyag" does not surrender to the enemy!
The history of the cruiser "Varyag" is a myth that has survived a century. I think he will survive for more than one century. Few battles of the 20th century, rich in two world wars, have had such an honor. We fought, blood was shed, and I remember this - a lonely ship going to battle with a whole squadron, proudly flying the St. Andrew's flag, the eternal words of the song: “Upward, comrades, all are in their places! The last parade is coming!"
The crews of the Russian ships of that era were international. In the wardroom there are many German names. The Varyag's senior navigational officer was Lieutenant Behrens. The senior mine officer is Lieutenant Robert Burling. Warrant officers Schilling, Euler and Balk are also Varangians. Literally in the first minutes of the battle, a Japanese shell tore into pieces the warrant officer Alexei Nirod - only a hand with a ring on his finger remained from the twenty-two-year-old count.
Every third officer of the Varyag is German. Reading this list, you might think that we are talking about some German or British ship. But the Russian fleet began under Peter the Great with foreign specialists invited to serve. Many of them became Russified, as in time immemorial the Varangians who gave the name to the cruiser. Officers' dynasties were founded. This is how the empire served on the seas from generation to generation. With European surnames and Russian patronymics, like that of the same Robert Ivanovich Berling.
In addition, after the annexation of the Baltic States (Livonia, Estland and Courland) in the first half of the 18th century, numerous "Ostsee" nobility joined the Russian nobility along with the lean estates. "Ost See" (East Lake) in German means the Baltic Sea. All these poor but noble families, like the famous Wrangels, were not tormented by unnecessary doubts. They served the Swedes until Charles XII. The Russians came and began to serve them. However, the Romanovs did not meddle in the cultural policy of this category of their subjects. In what language they speak in Riga and Revel (now Tallinn), what faith they profess - it does not matter. If only they served. And the poor Germans served really well. That was their mentality. So it turned out that EXACTLY THIRD of the Varangian officers who took part in the battle were Germans by nationality. Six out of eighteen!
"Auf dec, cameden!" And the song, which has become a famous military anthem, was composed by a real German! Natural and purebred. The poet Rudolf Greinz is a subject of the German Kaiser Wilhelm. In the same 1904. Literally hot on the trail. And in German, of course. In the original, the beginning sounds like this: "Auf dec, cameden!" ("To the deck, comrades!"). What we know in Russian translation, as: "Upstairs, you comrades!"
As soon as the volleys of the battle near Chemulpo died down and world news agencies spread to the newspapers of all countries the message about the heroic duel of the Varyag with the Mikado ships, Greinz rushed to his desk in delight. He was bursting with sympathy. Male solidarity. In the war with the Japanese, Germany was unequivocally on the side of Russia. Therefore, Greinz wrote, literally merging with the crew of the deceased ship in the pronoun "we":
From the faithful dock we go into battle, Towards the death threatening us, We will die for our homeland in the open sea, Where the yellow-faced devils are waiting!
"Yellow-faced devils" have always touched me. They say you can't erase words from a song. Not true. These were thrown out. As "politically incorrect". The connection to a specific war has disappeared over time. But "Varyag" was sung in many wars. And not only Russians. For example, the same Germans, who entered the French Foreign Legion after the already lost World War II, famously bawled it in Vietnam. Let me remind you that before the Americans, back in the 50s in this country, the "yellow-faced devils" (I ask the editors not to delete!) The French had time to fight.
Loboda among the Eulers. In general, the fate of war songs is bizarre. The same author of Varyag, Rudolf Greinz, lived, by the way, until 1942. I wonder how he felt when the German tanks went to Stalingrad? What was his soul singing then? It is unlikely that we will ever find out.
But, returning to the officers of the "Varyag", we find among them our compatriot, midshipman Alexander Loboda. At the time of the battle, he was only nineteen. He was assigned to the cruiser exactly three months before the famous battle. In the Civil War, he will fight against the Reds on the "Admiral Kolchak" armored train. He was shot in 1920 in Kholmogory.
Explore the history of the heroes of the battle in Chemulpo. Lieutenant Sergei Zarubaev (that's a dashing surname!) Will be shot by the Cheka in Petrograd in 1921 - in the same Tagantsev case as the poet Nikolai Gumilyov. Captain II Rank Stepanov (senior cruiser officer) emigrates to Yugoslavia after the victory of the October Revolution, which for him turned out to be not a victory, but a defeat. Heavy and unbearable. Warrant officer Schilling will die in the already independent Estonia (former Estland) in 1933. Euler dies in Paris in 1943. And Lieutenant Yevgeny Behrens will manage to become one of the first chiefs of the Naval Forces of the Soviet Republic (I told you - the Germans can serve, anyone!) And will die in Moscow in 1928. Don't judge any of them harshly. The passions that were tearing souls apart at the beginning of the last century have cooled down, replaced by new experiences. Yes, and ours will also cool down. Descendants, just like we are today, will look at us in bewilderment, wondering why THEY were so fired up? Was it worth it? And the memory of "Varyag" and the song will still remain.
Outright lost battle. From childhood, from the very moment when, sitting next to my father at the TV, I watched the black-and-white feature film "Cruiser" Varyag ", I was tormented by the question: could he break through? Was there at least one decision that would bring the ship not only glory, but also victory - the free sea in front, the outlines of the Japanese squadron melting behind the stern and the continuation of the combat biography?
The battle of the Varyag with the Japanese on January 27, 1904 (O. S.) lasted a little less than an hour. Exactly at 11:45 am the armored cruiser Asama opened fire on a Russian ship that had set out on the open sea. And at 12:45 pm, according to the records in the logbook, the Varyag and the outdated gunboat Koreets that accompanied it had already returned to the Chemulpo harbor. The cruiser trudged with an obvious list to the port side. There were eight holes in its side. According to other sources, eleven. Losses - 1 killed officer and 30 sailors, 6 officers and 85 sailors wounded and shell-shocked. About a hundred more received minor injuries. This is a crew of 570. The ship's commander, Captain I Rank Vsevolod Rudnev, was also wounded. Virtually everyone on the upper deck at the guns was wounded or killed. Continuation of the battle was out of the question.
On the same day, Rudnev made a decision to sink the Varyag and detonate the Koreyets. From a military point of view, it is a complete defeat. However, it could not even be otherwise. Throughout the entire battle, the "Korean" fired only a few shots at the Japanese destroyers. The outdated vessel could not get the enemy cruiser. Her guns fired black powder over a short distance. The ship had no combat value at all.
Song about "Varyag". German original and Russian translation.
Officers of the "Varyag". Take a closer look: nothing heroic …
After battle. The roll to the left side of the knocked-out cruiser is clearly visible.
Runner versus fighter. Unlike the Koreyets, the US-built armored cruiser Varyag was a new warship with twelve six-inch guns. However, all of them were installed openly on the deck and did not even have splinter shields. The ship's only trump card was its high speed. On trials in America, he showed 24 knots. The Varyag was faster than any ship in the Japanese squadron. However, the old slow-moving "Korean", barely developing 12 knots, tied him hand and foot.
To deal with the Varyag, only one Japanese ship was enough - the armored cruiser Asama, on which Rear Admiral Uriu was holding the flag. This British-built ship, in addition to 14 six-inch guns, also had four eight-inch guns in the turrets. Not only the deck, like that of the Varyag, but also its sides were reliably covered by armor. In other words, "Varyag" was a "runner", and "Asama" was a "fighter". "Varyag" was intended for reconnaissance and raiding - hunting for defenseless vehicles. "Asama" - for squadron battles. But, in addition to the most powerful Asama, the Japanese at Chemulpo had a small armored cruiser Chiyoda, four armored cruisers (three of them were new), a messenger ship and a flock of destroyers in the amount of eight pieces. Complete numerical superiority. A whole pack of hunters was driving the "game"!
As it is sung in another, somewhat less well-known song ("Cold waves are splashing"): "We did not lower the glorious St. Andrew's flag before the enemy, we blew up the Korean ourselves, we sunk the Varyag!" It sounds, you see, even somewhat mocking - they blew themselves up and drowned themselves so that what had survived would not fall into the hands of the enemy. And this, as for me, is a weak consolation. Considering that the Japanese then raised the Varyag anyway.
In no case do I want to reproach the crew of the cruiser and its commander for the lack of personal courage. His something was manifested even in abundance! No wonder, apart from the Russian Order of St. George IV degree, Rudnev in 1907, already after the end of the war, was also awarded by Japan. He received the Order of the Rising Sun from the Mikado in recognition of his undeniable courage.
Advanced Asia versus Backward Europe … But any fight is also a math problem. Having a pistol, you should not get involved with a whole crowd of opponents armed with rifles. But if you have long and fast legs, it's best not to get involved and try to get away. But “Varyag” with its 24 knots against the 21st at “Asama” could really leave! All this cavalcade armed to the teeth in "bulletproof vests" would be dragged behind him and only then would it be doused. But I couldn't get it out of either 8- or 6-inches. True, for this it was necessary first to destroy the "Koreets" themselves. But it was blown up anyway!
There is a version that due to operating errors, Russian sailors allegedly ruined the Varyag steam engine over the previous three years. He could not keep his record speed for a long time. Here I can only shrug my hands. The Japanese, who raised the cruiser after the battle, went over his car and achieved a very decent speed of 22 knots! "Yellow-faced devils"? Or maybe just zealous, neat people, like today's Chinese, who showed swaggering Europeans what "backward" Asians can really do? Well, just like the same Russians demonstrated in their time near Poltava Europe the ability to quickly learn all European wisdom. In general, it was not for nothing that Lenin wrote an article about the Russian-Japanese war - about ADVANCED Asia and RETARDED Europe. So it was AT THAT moment!
Discreet, but the right decision … So I see a gratifying picture. In the early morning of January 27, 1904, without any orchestras and the performance of hymns, as they pass by foreign ships frozen in the roadstead, where they carry out the honorary service of stationers, a narrow long ship in war olive paint slips out of the harbor and flies, with all its might, past the crazed Japanese in Port -Arthur. And on it - Warrant Officer Nirod (survivor!) And Warrant Officer Loboda, whom no one will shoot in 1920. And all 570 sailors and officers, up to the civilian restaurateur Plakhotin and the sailor of the 2nd article Mikhail Avramenko, with whom the list of the dead begins, and sailors Karl Spruge and Nikolai Nagle (obviously Estonians!), Are closer to the end of this mournful list of the resting!
Those in Port Arthur would have been warned of an impending attack. The war would have turned out differently. And on the roadstead at this time the "Koreets" explodes and his team goes over to foreign ships - the only possible solution is to remove the fetters from the fast legs of the "Varyag".
To all my critics I will give two examples from the history of the same war. On August 1, 1904, three Russian cruisers collided with a more powerful Japanese squadron in the Korea Strait. The outdated cruiser "Rurik" was knocked out and began to lose speed. But Admiral Karl Jessen threw away the sentiments and decided to leave for Vladivostok. "Rurik" was killed. "Russia" and "Thunderbolt" were saved. Nobody reproached Jessen for the correct decision. It was the only true one. According to the documents, the Japanese cruisers were faster than the Russians. However, in practice, they did not catch up with either "Russia" or "Gromoboy" that day. The coal began to run out. And it was a long way back to Japan.
And the cruiser "Emerald" after the Tsushima battle rushed to his heels, instead of surrendering, and not a single "yellow-faced devil" caught up with him. He himself, however, sat down a few days later on the stones near Vladivostok. But on the other hand, the shame of captivity AVOID in the original sense of the word.
In general, if you are a runner, RUN! And don't mess with the blockheads. You will not become a hero. But you will live. It is better to sing songs than to know that others will sing them about you.
